


Hot Times at the Hot Tub

by Gay Romance Book Club (TheRealFailWhale)



Series: Shadowgast Deserves Nice Things [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Campaign 2, Confessions, Essek likes the hot tub, Frottage, Hot Tub, Hot Tub Sex, M/M, Mighty Nein, Shadowgast, Xhorhouse (Critical Role), i can't believe i used the word member, sex related uses of magic, when the party's away the caleb will play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:54:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24656413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheRealFailWhale/pseuds/Gay%20Romance%20Book%20Club
Summary: Caleb is surprised when Essek shows up at the Xhorhaus, but Essek just couldn't stop thinking about that hot tub...Set right after C2E91
Relationships: Essek Thelyss/Caleb Widogast
Series: Shadowgast Deserves Nice Things [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1814653
Kudos: 138





	Hot Times at the Hot Tub

The Xhorhaus was in the middle of a rare quiet moment. Caleb had the place to himself as the rest of the Nein had gone off to shop and socialize. Nott had done her best to convince him to join them, insisting that he needed a day of relaxation just as much as the rest of them. But he had ultimately won out, gently assuring her that to stay in his room with his books would bring him some peace after the stress of seeing his...old friends in Rexxentrum.

Caleb sighed and took a sip of the tea Caduceus had brought him before leaving with the rest of the crew. He gave Frumpkin’s ears a scritch, the cat barely stirring from his position on the desktop, and returned to reading.

He’d only gotten through a few pages when there was a knock from down below. Caleb frowned.

“Who is that?” he asked Frumpkin quietly, knowing it couldn’t be his friends. But as the memory of last night’s dinner came back to him, he shoved eagerly away from the desk, causing his cat to chirrup in annoyance.

He took the stairs a few at a time, straightening his clothes on the way and trying to brush his hair into order. As he passed a mirror in the entry hall, he clucked at his reflection and settled for tying his gingery curls into a loose tail at his neck. He had no time to change into something other than his loose white shirt, open at the neck and tucked into his trousers, but at least they were clean.

Another knock came at the door and Caleb hurried to open it.

In the perpetual dim of Rosohna, Essek Thelyss stood on the doorstep. Well, hovered on the doorstep. His pale-haired head was slightly above Caleb’s, his violet eyes tilted down to look at the man. His angular features curled into a smile as Caleb revealed himself and the drow bowed his head, his hair falling slightly forward with the motion. It was all Caleb could do to not openly gape at the man’s loveliness.

“Good morning,” said Essek as Caleb stood staring at him. “I hope I am not interrupting…?”

As Essek trailed off questioningly, Caleb was able to muster up a smile of his own. “Not at all, Herr Thelyss, not at all. Won’t you come in?”

He stepped back as Essek glided into the Xhorhaus, passing close enough to stir the hair that Caleb had not managed to tie back. As he shut the door behind Essek, he took the brief opportunity before the drow turned around to admire him. Though he was completely covered by the impressive dark mantle, Caleb guessed that there was a strong body hidden in that fabric. He could tell by the way the robe hung from his shoulders.

“Where is the rest of the Mighty Nein today?” Essek asked, turning to meet Caleb’s eyes. “I am surprised Jester is not here to greet me.”

“I am not sure whether I will reassure or disappoint you, but my friends are not in right now,” Caleb said. He didn’t know what to do now that Essek was hovering in front of him. He stuck his hands in his trouser pockets, painfully aware that even his improved wardrobe wasn’t as nice as Essek’s. “They are off shopping, I believe.”

“And you did not go with them?” Essek raised a curved eyebrow, his own hands hidden in his immense sleeves.

“I felt a desire to sit quietly and read, actually,” Caleb explained, feeling stupid just standing there. “It has been some time since I had a moment to myself.”

Essek looked slightly guilty. “Ah, forgive me. I did not realize I was disrupting your studies.”

Caleb hastily waved a hand, saying, “ _ Nein _ , no, not at all. It is always a pleasure to see you, Herr Thelyss.” Oh shit. Was that too much? Maybe that was too much.

But Essek’s smile suggested it was not unappreciated.

“In that case, I rescind my apology,” he said lightly, almost as though he was teasing Caleb.

Caleb cleared his throat. “Ahem, what has brought you here this morning, Herr Thelyss?”

The drow...blushed? “Well, this is perhaps not the best time for such things, but I found myself distracted from my work by the idea of--”

_ Oh gods, what?  _ Caleb had several ideas of his own that he hoped Essek might share.

“--the hot tub that Jester and Caduceus showed me last night.”

“ _ Dummkopf _ ,” Caleb muttered in response to his own line of thinking, causing the drow to tilt his head in polite confusion. “That is, you did seem to enjoy it, though you only dipped your toes.”

“Yes,” Essek smiled again before continuing. “If it would not be too inconvenient, could I…that is, I wondered if I might--”

In their short acquaintance, Caleb had yet to see Shadowhand Essek Thelyss look nervous, but now here he was, watching as Essek’s cheeks flushed a deep and lovely shade of purple.

“You would like to try it again?” Caleb asked, feeling that it might be easier for the drow if Essek didn’t have to express the desire himself.

“Yes.” Essek looked relieved that Caleb had rescued him, his shoulders relaxing beneath his mantle. “Would you mind?”

“Of course not,” Caleb said, wondering if Essek was going to dip more than just his toes this time. “ _ Bitte _ , follow me, if you please.”

As Essek followed him to the hot tub chamber they’d visited the night before, Caleb felt his mind race with a multitude of thoughts. Was Essek going to fully get in the hot tub? If so, did he expect Caleb to stay and join him? Was he about to see beneath Essek’s robes? The idea--not a new one for him, though new to the light of day--set his pulse racing, and he urged himself to focus on placing his feet on the stone steps as a distraction.

When they finally reached the hot tub, Essek sighed as though yet another weight had been taken from him and met Caleb’s eyes again.

“It is somewhat embarrassing to admit, but while I have never wanted for comforts here in Rosohna, I am quickly becoming enamored of this…hot tub.” Essek shook his head at the pause while Caleb watched, feeling somewhat weak in the warm air. “Even the name feels like an absurd luxury.”

“It is something I have had to adjust to myself since joining this group,” Caleb admitted. “Jester in particular is used to a sort of fancy lifestyle, and has brought much of that with her.”

“I can see that in her,” Essek agreed with a smile.

There was a brief pause, during which Caleb stared into the bubbling water as he felt Essek’s eyes wander the room. He couldn’t think of an unawkward way to ask to join Essek, so eventually he spoke up.

“Well, I will leave you to your relaxation, Herr Thelyss. If you need anything at all, I will--” 

“Are you not staying?” asked Essek in a tone of teasing disappointment, causing Caleb’s eyes to jerk up to the drow’s face, which quickly returned to a formal state. “That is, if your studies would permit you, I would have your company.”

“ _ Ja _ ,” Caleb answered quickly, his eagerness taking over him, and Essek grinned.  _ Grinned _ .

“Very well then.” Essek looked pleased, and before Caleb’s mind had time to catch up with what was happening, Essek began to pull off his robes. “Shall we?”

By the gods, Essek was going to get into the hot tub. He was going to put his body--which was being revealed a little more quickly than Caleb could quite handle--into the hot water and soak, and he expected Caleb to join him.

Fighting to maintain his breath, Caleb followed Essek’s suit and undressed. He went more slowly than the drow, as he did not know just how far down Essek planned to strip. His slower pace also gave him more time to take in what Essek was revealing.

Caleb was slightly surprised to see that Essek, like himself, was thin. His shoulders were indeed broad, as Caleb had imagined, but where he had pictured muscles like--like Eadwulf’s, Essek was instead more like Caleb in form. The dark skin flowed unblemished down the drow’s chest and stomach, which were not Beau-level muscular but instead possessed a pleasant leanness that Caleb found more attractive. Essek wore a pair of black shorts, which he kept on, and though Caleb had thoroughly imagined Essek without such coverings, they were something of a life-saver at the moment. If Essek had stripped down completely just now, he might have passed out. Anyway, they offered Caleb a comfortable example to follow, and he kept his own shorts on, folding the rest of his clothes into a neat pile at the tub’s edge.

Without another word, Essek slid fluidly into the hot water, spreading his wiry arms wide to rest on the edge. He tilted his head back, exposing his dark throat, and sighed heavily.

At the sight of this, Caleb was fully aroused. He quickly joined Essek in the water, submerging himself beneath the bubbles and subtly tucking himself up beneath the waistband of his shorts.

“I would not have bothered you today, Caleb, if I was not truly consumed by thoughts of this. I was getting absolutely nothing done, I assure you.” Essek brought his eyes down to meet Caleb’s, an expression of pleasure clear on his features. “Thank you for indulging me.”

“Anytime, Herr Thelyss,” Caleb managed to say without croaking, his thoughts full of other indulgences and the double entendres he couldn’t help hearing in the other’s words. Essek waved a hand dismissively.

“My name is Essek, Caleb. I ask that you use it,” he said with a smile. He seemed to notice at least a part of Caleb’s discomfort, for his smile faded and he asked, “Is something bothering you?”

_ You have no idea _ , Caleb thought.  _ It’s like I am a _ \--

“You make me feel like a young boy,” Caleb blurted out, regretting the words even as he spoke them. As Essek frowned, he said, “ _ Scheisse, nein _ , that is--”

“I admit, I am sorry to hear that.” Essek was looking at him closely, arms still spread wide across the tub’s edge, the bubbling water dancing just beneath his pectorals. “Such a feeling would certainly change the nature of our relationship.”

Caleb blinked rapidly, trying to come up with an explanation for Essek’s words that didn’t just satisfy the desires he dealt with at night.

“We have a...relationship?” he repeated slowly, trusting that Essek would take his confusion as a signal to explain.

Essek cleared his throat, one hand dangling into the water and lightly twirling the fingers. “After our dinner last night, I trust you will not be surprised if I tell you that I am not much of a social creature.”

When Essek raised an eyebrow, Caleb nodded to show he understood, and the drow went on, looking somewhere over the man’s shoulder. 

“My friendships are few and far between, and my...relationships even more so. Therefore, I do not have much experience in such matters, but I believe--” he brought his eyes back to Caleb’s sharply, and there was a light there that Caleb had not yet seen. Was it lust? Was it a warning? “I believe that I am not completely ignorant of how such relationships might begin. Unless I am mistaken, you have made several invitations, small perhaps, but in such a way that even I could read them. Am I wrong?”

Caleb thought of every time he’d smiled at Essek, the moment he’d attempted to offer an apology through touch, the way he drew close to him during their lessons. The lessons that Caleb had convinced Essek he could be trusted with. Yes. He’d certainly given Essek several invitations.

“You are not wrong,” Caleb murmured, his eyes fixed on a point over Essek’s bare shoulder. He could not bring himself to meet Essek’s eyes now that he was confronting the way he’d used the drow.

“In that case--” Essek started to go on, but Caleb forced himself to interrupt.

“Forgive me, He--Essek,” he said slowly, feeling himself sink a little further into the hot water. “It was not appropriate of me to make such gestures toward you. I will admit that in the beginning, my overtures were aimed at persuading you to impart some of your knowledge to me, for which I apologize. But--” His gaze flicked to Essek’s face quickly but the drow’s face was closed off. “My intentions strayed. I would have you know this, and I hope it will assuage any concerns you have that I am trying to--to manipulate you.”

The sound of bubbling water fell between them. Caleb was grateful they were conducting this conversation in the hot tub, as it allowed him to hide more than he could have if they’d been standing. The fire he’d felt at seeing Essek splayed out comfortably in the water was entirely gone now, replaced with a cold pit of shame in his stomach.

“I am aware that you were initially attempting to use me,” Essek replied carefully, and Caleb could feel his eyes on his face. “I have been a member of the Bright Queen’s court for too long to not recognize such behavior. But I also noticed when your attitude toward me changed.” Caleb again jerked his eyes to Essek’s face before quickly looking away again. “I thank you for admitting your original intentions, but just now I was referring to your more recent shows of...friendship.”

Essek’s voice was low, low enough that Caleb imagined he could feel it in his chest. The fire that had burned out in chagrin was being relit.

“...and what were you going to say?” Caleb asked with trepidation as he finally locked eyes with Essek and didn’t look away, brain still clinging to the probability that Essek was about to tell him to fuck off, but other parts of him were clinging to hope.

Essek regarded Caleb closely with his arms spread wide, giving him the appearance of a lord surveying a servant.

“I am Shadowhand,” Essek declared, causing Caleb to knit his brows in confusion. “This means that I am bound to my queen and country, in all likelihood until my death. There is little room in my life for anything besides my duties.”

Caleb felt his face fall and was suddenly aware that he’d been wearing his hope openly.

“I understand,” he said, trying to keep his deep disappointment out of his voice. “You are a very important man.”

Essek held up a hand to forestall any more from Caleb. “I have little room for more than my responsibilities, but…” Essek’s dark lips curled into a coy smile. “I have enough room for you.”

Caleb felt his eyes go wide as Essek pushed off from his side of the tub and floated across to Caleb, standing up in the tub. He looked down at Caleb, whose face was now very close to the drow’s waist, his white hair dripping down in front of his eyes.

“Would such an arrangement be amenable to you, Caleb Widowgast?”

Amenable?

Without thinking, Caleb surged to his feet, sending water over the lip of the tub. He wrapped his arms around Essek and kissed him, the way he’d been dreaming for weeks now.

Immediately, Essek’s hand was gripping the back of Caleb’s head, crushing their mouths together. As his blood rushed downward, Caleb felt as though he were immersed in fire, the heat of his desire blending into the heat of the water. Essek slipped a little on the floor of the hot tub and Caleb sank back to his seat, pulling the drow down on top of him. This movement brought his groin into contact with Essek’s, and he groaned when he felt there a similar hardness.

“You have more to you than I suspected, Widowgast,” Essek growled as he pressed himself down into Caleb, who groaned once more.

The drow moved to nip and lick at Caleb’s neck, who focused all his considerable energy on what was happening at that moment. It had been ages since Caleb had revelled in the closeness of another person, and he sought to memorize every feeling that was coursing through him. His hands wandered over Essek’s back, fingers that were adept at arcane sigils tracing the patterns that lay beneath the dark skin. When Essek began to suck at the spot where Caleb’s neck met his shoulder, he inadvertently dug his fingers into the drow’s back, only to feel Essek’s back arch under his touch, bringing their groins further together. The soaked fabric of their shorts was doing nothing to disguise their arousals and only served as a barrier to more pleasure. 

Mind still focused on every moment of this exchange, Caleb tried to drag the drow’s shorts down but was stopped by his widespread thighs. Without stopping to think, Caleb used burning hands to aid him as he ripped apart the frustrating fabric. He heard Essek hiss, and for one moment Caleb was suddenly terrified that he’d burned the other man but the thought was quickly squashed as Essek brought their mouths back together and kissed him with renewed vigor, tongue lashing at the other’s.

When Caleb’s hand brushed Essek’s member, the drow pressed his lips to Caleb’s ears and whispered, “Ah ah, together. Together, Caleb Widowgast,” and he slipped his hands down to Caleb’s own shorts and with a similar spell rendered them obsolete.

At last their skin pressed together, and in spite of the hot water surrounding them, Caleb was sure he could feel Essek’s heat. With an eagerness that belied his normally serious nature, Caleb took them both in hand and began with long, slow strokes. Essek actually whimpered into Caleb’s mouth and he felt himself grow somehow harder.

As Essek moved with Caleb’s strokes, seeking the speed that Caleb was slow to increase, the drow practically chanted “yes, fuck” and moaned Caleb’s name numerous times, interspersed with other elvish phrases. Caleb gradually picked up speed, wanting to give Essek the pace he clearly desired, and it was not long before both of them were exclaiming loudly, one in elvish, the other in Zemnian, as their seed spilled into the water around them.

Together, they panted, Essek pressing his forehead to Caleb’s as he breathed raggedly into the human’s face. Caleb occasionally shuddered, the pleasure still filling his veins and clouding his mind. He heard dimly, as though through cloth in his ears, Essek murmur a spell and wave his hand over the water, and he saw that the drow was removing their seed from the hot tub. A considerate move for Caleb’s house mates.

“I take it my proposal is, in fact, amenable, then?” Essek huffed as their breathing slowed. 

A grin spread across Caleb’s face. “Ja,” he said lazily, before pulling Essek down for a kiss.


End file.
